Here's a St.-Estèphe that's really appealing young but also has good aging potential. Great balance between crisp acidity, ripe fruit and elegant dry tannins. The finish is long and rather subtle.

The 2014 Lafon Rochet has a very attractive, slightly floral bouquet with raspberry and crushed strawberry fruit, a touch of rose petals lending this a feminine allure. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe tannins. This feels quite dense in the mouth, a welcome pinch of white pepper and cedar lending complexity to the finish with tart cherries on the aftertaste. This is probably more forward than other Saint Estephe wines, but it should give 15-20 years of pleasure.

This delivers a direct beam of red and black currant fruit mixed with a note of blood orange. Picks up tobacco and warm stone accents through the finish.

The 2014 Lafon-Rochet is more concentrated on the nose than the Pagodes de Cos that precedes it: blackberry briar and melted tar, gaining delineation with aeration. The oak is well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied, with sapid black fruit and iodine, and there is a noticeable marine influence towards the finish. Moderate length. Drink now and over the next decade, possibly more.